The week that was....

© Nicholas Flood

Yoh, another really slow week for surf in the bay. Beaut conditions mostly, just bogger all waves. Water's been crystal clear, which means if you did venture out you got to see the entire ecosystem at work beneath you as you sat out there. Personally am not a fan of clear water as prefer to not see all the weird shadows and swimming things that go by. Overactive imagination coupled with recent number of shark incidents means ignorance is bliss. 

© Robbie Irlam

Pity there wasn't much surf, as with the super bright full moon's we've been getting a midnight sesh woulda been on the cards. No waves, but shew, are there fish! Chad Putman caught and released this monster Leerie in Swartkops last week. None of the usual fisherman's cheating of holding the fish out at arm's length towards the camera to make it look bigger! It's big enough anyway! Great catch!

The Richmond Hill Brewing Company has released it's first official bew - Car Park John. CPJ made an appearance a while ago, but had to be withdrawn from the kegs til all the official licensing stuff got sorted out, so now with a rubber stamp from the Liquor Board all sorted, it's back. Officially! Dave McGregor reckons it should be called a Pale Male instead of a Pale Ale! Pull in to the Beershack and grab a pint.

The NMMU ou's are still recovering from their babbel-aas after a great victory at SA Varsity Champs. Despite all the usual fun and games that accompany inter-varsities, the ou's put in some solid surfing. Jean du Plessis gave the guys a quick physics lesson out there, showing 'em how you can go forwards even when you going backwards.

Shout out to Faye Zoetmulder for taking the runner's up possie in the Ballito Pro, and showing the Saffa boys how it's done. They all got knocked out before the business end of the comp. Luckily Matt McGillivray saved the Saffa boys pride by winning the Expression session with a great aerial.

© Kelly Cestari

© Don McGillivray

The clock's counting down to the start of the JBay Winterfest, which kicks off on the 8th July. Plenty of stuff going on. The JBay Open of course, but also plenty of jols, skate events, runs, bikes, swims, kites and all sorts. And more jols. And more surfing. Why would you not wanna be there!? Just hope Neptune pitches up.

All the deets here http://www.millerslocal.co.za/comp-news/jbay-winterfest-is-one-week-away

© Robbie Irlam

Whilst we stare at a flat ocean, the guys in Indo have dusted off the rhino chasers and have been blessed with a surplus of cooking surf. The whole archipelago fired for four days straight. Looking more like it's Pacific cousin Hawaii than Indo.

Pity most of the Saffa's missed the swell. Chappy, Terry and crew got back from the Ments a few days before it started, and the Coffey's arrived in Bali a coupla days after it settled down.

Can do at No Kandui

Travelling Wilbury's © Sandy Coffey

Jono stoked that he finally gets to surf a decent left! © Jono Coffey

Dean Simpson is back from Cali, and has wasted no time in getting his groove back on. Kody McGregor captured Dean being his usual stylish self. Deamon van Antwerpen decided he looked like someone else famous - and posted this pic as a comment to Dean's shot. The resemblance is uncanny!

Sharks were active again this week - with 2 incident in Aus - over the space of 2 days and just down the road from each other. In the first incident a chap got bitten on both legs, whilst in the second the guy was lucky to escape unscathed. Just had his one fin munched off and some tooth mark souvenirs. Guessing the shark objected to his 5 fin set-up and decided the board would work better as a quad.

The Pacific has also had a spike in shark activity - with 3 attacks in Maui last week, two of which were fatal. A swimmer was attacked and drowned following her injuries, and a kayaker was attacked by a shark and killed. A snorkeler who was busy cruising after a turtle got bitten on the calf. Sharks are certainly bev*k with us lot at the moment. So keep those toes up peeps and don't surf sketchy spots at the moment.

With all the shark incidents lately you can imagine what sort of epic pranks you could get up to at an event like this. The Texas Ski Ranch hosted an "in-lake" screening of Jaws in recently, to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary. 

Props to Nathan Gernetzky for taking the bull by the horns and being the impetus behind getting a Gauteng Surf Club started. After the restructuring of SA Surfing into the new provincial/regional set-up, it turned out that some Gauteng representation was gonna be needed. Nathan was amped for the challenge, and after getting the all clear from Robin de Kock, is on a mission to get the Vaalie boys to SA Champs next year.

Reckon there'll be a few ou's nipping to face them in their heats, cos losing to a land-locked surfer is blind. Mind you, they could field a pretty decent team cos there are some good surfers who've had to move to the Big Smoke. Maybe some team trials at Sun City's Valley of the Waves??

If you're a surfer stuck in Jozi, then shoot Nathan an email on [email protected]. Not only about getting a competitive team together, but also about keeping the stoke alive, with social events like getting together to watch surf flicks, or planning a quick surf trip to the coast.

Gauteng Surf Club practice maybe?

Nice concept shoe from Adidas, who've made a sneaker entirely from recycled ocean trash - the green trim are strands of fishing nets. Clever. Scary how much crap ends up in the ocean. Remember to pick up whatever junk you spot on the beach as you walk back after your sesh. Gooi it in the bin. Every bit helps.

The price of progressive surfing is that sometimes things don't go according to plan. St Francis local Shaun Payne experiencing what happens if you spell his surname differently.

© Nick Christy

Shot to Robin van der Merwe for winning the Berrshack surfboard raffle. The raffle was drawn on Friday night, and was part of the fundraising effort of the NMBS Masters team to get themselves to the SA Champs in Richards Bay in August.

Got some old wetties you no longer using? Don't leave em lurking in the garage, go pop em in the bin at a Billabong store near you for their Surfers Helping Surfers campaign. They're get passed on to disadvantaged surfers, plus you score a discount on a new Bong suit. Wins all round.

Charts not looking very exciting for the bay again this week. As usual, if you're prepared to drive a bit you find something better. Should be a wave or two for the opening rounds of the JBay Open (which I still refer to as the Billabong. Old habits die hard!) Unfortunately the crystal ball isn't showing any signs of a classic JBay swell during the event as yet. Contestable waves for sure, just nothing spectacular. Thankfully forecasts are fluctuating things, so there's still hope for a purple people eater to sneak through.

Sunrise © Thelma Nel